Data from July 31 shows that the southbound trading desk recorded a net sell-off of HK$481 million across the Hong Kong stock market. The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect posted a net inflow of HK$559 million, while the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect saw a net outflow of HK$1.04 billion.

The top net buys via southbound capital were Xiaomi Corp. (01810), Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (09988), and Tencent Holdings Ltd. (00700). The largest net sales were Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Joint Stock Ltd. (06869), Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (00981), and Hua Hong Semiconductor Ltd. (01347).

Among the actively traded stocks, Xiaomi Corp. (01810) attracted a net purchase of HK$1.716 billion. Xiaomi held a car technology launch event, unveiling its new technical platform, Xiaomi Kunlun Architecture, and introduced its new car series, SkyNomad, priced at 259,900 yuan and 299,900 yuan. A Nomura report indicated that the launch of SkyNomad marks Xiaomi's first step from pure battery electric vehicles (BEV) to extended-range electric vehicles (EREV).

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (09988) received a net buy of HK$1.234 billion. On July 31, the market value of ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) briefly exceeded HK$4 trillion during trading, closing with a market cap of over HK$3.6 trillion. After CXMT successfully listed and issued 10% new shares, Alibaba's stake was diluted to about 4.48%, making it the largest industrial investor in CXMT. Based on its investment of approximately 7.6 billion yuan, the paper profit exceeded 150 billion yuan.

Tencent Holdings Ltd. (00700) was net bought for HK$794 million. BOC International released a research note stating that investors are increasingly focused on Tencent's earnings per share forecasts and the return on AI investment. The bank predicts Tencent's capital expenditure in 2026 will be between 160 billion and 180 billion yuan but believes Tencent will maintain a cautious investment pace to preserve business flexibility. BOC International noted that it is still too early to discuss the scale of capital expenditure beyond 2027 and expects Tencent to adopt a more moderate capital spending plan in 2027 compared to this year.

Zhipu AI (02513) received a net purchase of HK$575 million. Zhipu announced that its paid subscription service, GLM Coding Plan, is now open for subscription as infrastructure expands. Previously, due to a surge in AI coding demand and rapid user growth, subscription slots were temporarily limited.

GigaDevice Semiconductor (03986) saw a net buy of HK$408 million. GigaDevice announced a plan to repurchase A-shares, with a total buyback fund of no less than 1 billion yuan and no more than 2 billion yuan. The repurchased shares will be fully cancelled to reduce registered capital. Additionally, its actual controller, Zhu Yiming, plans to increase his shareholding by no less than 1 billion yuan, and he committed not to reduce his holdings for 12 months starting July 29, 2026.

Kingboard Laminates Holdings Ltd. (01888) attracted a net purchase of HK$115 million. The copper-clad laminate leader issued a profit alert, expecting its first-half net profit to exceed HK$2.8 billion, a year-on-year surge of over 200%. The strong performance is attributed to the persistently tight supply-demand balance in the industry. Upstream raw materials like copper-clad laminates, electronic glass fiber yarn, electronic fabric, and copper foil are in short supply, with product prices significantly increased, and copper-clad laminate sales volumes have also grown.

Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Joint Stock Ltd. (06869) was net sold for HK$216 million. Corning's second-quarter results slightly exceeded expectations, but its stock price briefly plunged over 20%. Analysts noted that Corning's net profit margin jumped significantly, confirming that AI data center fiber optics have shifted from scale-driven to high-value-add driven. However, the company's implied quarter-on-quarter growth rate for the third quarter declined, and plans to significantly increase fiber optic and optical connection capacity indicate that global supply bottlenecks are being actively broken. Additionally, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (00981) and Hua Hong Semiconductor Ltd. (01347) were net sold for HK$147 million and HK$115 million, respectively.